System for high temperature chemical processing

Abstract

A method and apparatus for making carbon black. A plasma gas is flowed into a plasma forming region containing at least one, magnetically isolated, plasma torch containing at least one electrode, and forming a plasma. Collecting the plasma formed in a cooled header and flowing the plasma through at least one reaction region to heat the reaction region, and injecting carbon black forming feedstock into the reaction region, resulting in the formation of at least one grade of carbon black. An apparatus for making carbon black is also described including a plasma forming section containing at least one, magnetically isolated plasma torch containing at least one electrode, in fluid flow communication with at least one carbon black forming reactor section, the plasma section and reactor section separated by a plasma formed collection header.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of making carbon black, comprising:
 flowing a plasma gas into a plasma forming region containing multiple plasma torches, each of the multiple plasma torches including a magnetic coil and containing at least one electrode; 
 forming a plasma from each plasma torch and combining plasmas formed from the multiple plasma torches in a collection region upstream of a reaction region; 
 flowing the combined plasmas through the reaction region; and 
 injecting, at a single injection stage downstream of the plasma forming region, carbon black forming feedstock reactants into the reaction region, resulting in the formation of at least one grade of carbon black. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , including multiple electrodes. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrode is a graphite electrode. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the plasma gas contains hydrogen. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrode comprises a sintered metal or metal oxide coating. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrode comprises copper, tungsten, aluminum, steel or an alloy thereof. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plasma forming region is separated from the reaction region by the collection region. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the multiple plasma torches is vertically or substantially vertically oriented. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the multiple plasma torches are vertically or substantially vertically oriented. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reaction region is horizontally oriented. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , including multiple reaction regions. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one grade of carbon black is selected from a plurality of grades of carbon black, wherein a given grade of carbon black meets a set of specific bulk properties. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a plasma torch of the multiple plasma torches is magnetically isolated one from another plasma torch of the multiple plasma torches. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising flowing the combined plasmas through the reaction region to mix with and heat the carbon black forming feedstock reactants in the reaction region. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1 , including a single reaction region. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the collection region is cooled. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the collection region is water or gas cooled.